Pay-TV Subscriptions Fall for First Time as Streaming Gains

The number of Americans who pay for television through cable, satellite or fiber services fell by more than a quarter of a million in 2013, the first full-year decline in TV customers, research firm SNL Kagan said.

The tally of video subscribers across the entire pay-TV industry, which includes Comcast Corp., DirecTV and Verizon Communications Inc., dropped by 251,000 last year to about 100 million in the U.S., the firm said in a statement today.

Fewer people are buying traditional television subscriptions as online-streaming services from companies like Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. offer cheaper alternatives. Though satellite and telecommunications providers continued to gain users, they didn’t add enough to make up for the losses of cable companies.

Cable lost almost 2 million video subscribers last year, while satellite services added 170,000 customers and phone- company offerings using fiber optics, such as Verizon’s FiOS and AT&T Inc.’s U-verse, netted 1.6 million.

The number of Americans who pay for television through cable, satellite or fiber services fell by more than a quarter of a million in 2013, the first full-year decline in TV customers, research firm SNL Kagan said.